water spots

[wrx025]

i have been fighting water spots and its driving me nuts i cant get rid of them. does anyone know how to get rid of them.

[HCAD]

Re: water spots

On the paint or on your glass? What have you tried so far?

Could be that they are etched into the paint and may not be removable. But one good, although strong, product is Meguiar's #105.

[wrx025]

Re: water spots

well some of the cleaner wax for some reason took some of it off but hardley any. if they are etched how would i get rid of them and whats the 105 also water spots on my glass to

[Mike Phillips]

Re: water spots

On the forum homepage you can find this,

Have Questions? Looking for Answers?
So much good, practical and helpful information in the "Information Station" like these two forum groups and the List 'O Links thread.
Hot Topics
How To Articles
List 'O Links 2.0


The Hot Topics and How To Articles, forum groups are your friend. Both of the below can be found in one of the above groups.

How To Remove Water Spots off Automotive Paints


Hard to believe I wrote this back in 2005... although the title talks about a scratch, the principals apply to removing any below surface defect.

What it means to remove a scratch out of anything...



To remove water spots by hand get some Ultimate Compound or some Meguiar's rubbing compound. Both can be used by hand but only the liquid should be used by machine.

If the water etching are deep then just be aware that removing them means removing a lot of paint off the surface of your car and the UV protection for the color coat is in the clear coat.

Only fix the problem if the car isn't going to be exposed to the problem causing the water spots again otherwise they will just come back.

[JosephCaputo]

Re: water spots

I have had water spots on my windshield. I have utilized vinegar and a #5 steel wool which is the finest steel wool you can find. It is referred to steel wool but it actually is a plastic mesh #5 material that I used and with mild rubbing did remove the water spots. The plastic mesh is so fine it will not scratch the glass surface. I keep my car so clean that I have never needed to remove water spots from the paint surface. I always dry the car immediately with Microfiber cloths.

[sid719e]

Re: water spots

ScratchX 2.0 worked perfectly for me. Not much effort needed to remove the spots.

[DetailArtist]

Re: water spots

Gliptone sells Spot Check, basically an acid wash. Wash the car in the shade, rinse, leave wet, apply Spot Check on a wash mitt and wash a quarter-panel size area at a time w/ lots of rinsing. Wear hd rubber gloves, don't let the stuff dry on the car, work fast. It leaves the paint absolutely virgin, and super clean, polishing and waxing needed and results are fantastic. Works great also on windows.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: water spots

If the minerals in the water have literally etched into the paint you'll need a paint cleaner a good bit more aggressive than Cleaner Wax.

Water spots run the gamut from super easy to remove (a little quick detailer and you're done) to almost impossible (rotary buffing with a wool pad and compound). Most are somewhere inbetween these and Ultimate Compound can usually take care of them. You want to work just small areas at a time (about a foot square) and use a bit of elbow grease in the process. Wipe the product off before it dries and inspect the area. If the water spots are gone then continue around the effected areas - if not, then repeat the process until they are gone.